5 Singaporeans evacuated from Israel on military plane

SINGAPORE – Five Singaporeans were among 220 passengers on board a South Korean military transport plane that evacuated civilians from Tel Aviv on Saturday, taking them to Seoul.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) spokesman told The Straits Times: “MFA confirms that five Singaporeans and a family member were safely evacuated from Tel Aviv, Israel, on a military transport flight organised by the government of the Republic of Korea (ROK) to evacuate its citizens.” The Republic of Korea is South Korea’s official name.

The Singapore embassies in Tel Aviv and Seoul worked closely with their respective host governments to facilitate the Singaporean families’ departure from Israel and their safe return home, added the spokesman.

“The Singapore Government would like to express its deep appreciation to the government of the ROK for facilitating the safe evacuation of its citizens,” he added.

An Air Force KC-330 multi-purpose plane was deployed for the operation, according to a Facebook post by the Republic of Korea Air Force published on Saturday.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/rokairforce/posts/pfbid0PsGS49jfdquKgNDWdCFYpQdytG3T4hth8L5UGb516nmSVhA4e9Uk3ePtsckBdhc6l?ref=embed_pos[/embed]

The KC-330 departed South Korea on Friday and arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv on the same day, before it flew to Seoul with 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese nationals and the Singaporean families on board.

The Facebook post added: “This is the fifth time a KC-330 has been deployed in foreign manpower transportation, including ‘Operation Miracle’ that carried local soldiers in Afghanistan during the occupation of Kabul by the Taliban and ‘Operation Promise’ that carried local citizens during the Sudanese civil war.”

• Additional Reporting by Yong Li Xuan

ALSO READ: Thai worker 'ducks and crawls' to flee kibbutz as Hamas guns down friends

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.